Flooring system with a plurality of different decorative upper surfaces

ABSTRACT

A flooring system comprising a carrying panel with edges, said edges being provided with means for joining. The carrying panel is further being provided with an upper side and a lower side. The flooring system comprises a plurality of panels where each panel is provided with an upper decorative surface. The flooring system comprises panels with at least two of decorative surface selected from the group consisting of a thermosetting composite, a thermoplastic composite, an elastomeric foil, a thermoplastic foil, a metal sheet, a fabric, a mineral and a mineral composite.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. Ser.No. 13/311,188 filed Dec. 5, 2011, and U.S. Ser. No. 13/285,991 filedOct. 31, 2011, both of which claim priority to U.S. Ser. No. 10/581,261filed Jul. 11, 2006, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,071,192 on Dec. 6,2011, which is a continuation of and claims priority toPCT/SE2004/001666, filed on Nov. 16, 2004, claiming the priority ofSwedish Patent Application No. 0303344-6, filed Dec. 11, 2003. Theentire disclosures of these applications are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a flooring system with a plurality ofpanels where the top surface is provided with a decorative surfacehaving different material properties.

There is a number of different flooring materials known on the markettoday. As an example of these materials can be mentioned; wood, carpets,ceramic tiles, minerals like marble, vinyl mats, lacquer systems, rubbertiles and different types of laminate. It is of course most common toinstall only one of these materials per room, however, there is a needto able to combine different materials of both aesthetical andmechanical property reasons. It is however rather difficult to achievesuch combinations as these different materials most often have differentthickness and mechanical property as well as different methods forjoining them to the subfloor. It will therefore be very costly andawkward to make these combinations of materials. It would be veryadvantageous if such combination where easier to make.

The above mentioned desires have been met through the present invention.Accordingly, the present invention relates to a flooring systemcomprising a carrying panel with edges. The edges are provided withmeans for joining. The carrying panel is further provided with an upperside and a lower side. The invention is characterised in that theflooring system comprises a plurality of panels where each panel isprovided with an upper decorative surface where the flooring systemcomprises panels with at least two of the decorative surfaces selectedfrom the group consisting of; a thermosetting composite, a thermoplasticcomposite, an elastomeric foil, a thermoplastic foil, a metal sheet, afabric, a mineral and a mineral composite.

The edges are suitably provided with snap-joining functionality. Thereare several such snap-joined joints known on the market today. Snapjoining will facilitate the assembly. The edges may also be providedwith pre-applied glue in order to facilitate assembly where glued jointsare desired. It is also possible to utilise a traditional tongue andgroove joint which is glued.

According to one embodiment of the invention the thermosetting compositecomprises cellulose and amino resin. The cellulose may be present in theform of a sheet impregnated with the resin or a resin/cellulose slurry.It is also possible to use a wood veneer, which then will carry thedecorative part of the panel. The decor may also be carried of acellulose sheet. The amino resin is suitably selected from the groupconsisting of; melamine-formaldehyde resin, urea-formaldehyde resin andmixtures thereof. The thermosetting composite suitably further compriseshard particles selected from the group consisting of; aluminium oxide,silicon oxide and silicon carbide, the particles having an averageparticle size in the range 50 nm-150 μm, in order to increase the wearresistance. The described surface layer is also known as thermosettinglaminate which is known for its wear resistance and is also highlyresistive to most household chemicals. The thermosetting laminate isalso very easy to keep clean as the surface is very hard. Thethermosetting laminate can be provided with almost any decor one maythink of, however the most common decors are different kinds of wood,minerals like marble and granite as well as ceramic tiles.

The flooring system may also incorporate panels with a decorativesurface comprising a thermoplastic composite. The thermoplasticcomposite suitably comprises thermoplastic materials selected from thegroup consisting of; polyvinyl chloride, ionomeric ethylene methacrylicacid copolymer, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene andpolycarbonate.

The flooring system may also incorporate panels with a decorativesurface comprising a thermosetting composite comprising a radiationcuring resin. Also the thermosetting composite suitably comprises hardparticles selected from the group consisting of; aluminium oxide,silicon oxide and silicon carbide, the particles having an averageparticle size in the range 50 nm-150 μm.

The flooring system may also incorporate panels with a decorativesurface comprising an elastomeric foil which is selected from the groupconsisting of; thermoplastic elastomers, synthetic rubber and naturalrubber. Such a foil may be used in areas with high traffic where forexample sound dampening is desired. The elastomeric foil may also beprovided with any desired surface structure. It will for example bepossible to install a floor where the intended walkways have a rubbersurface while the rest of the floor have a simulated exclusive highgloss wood design constituted of an, easy to clean, thermosettinglaminate. It is also possible to add special physical properties inspecial areas as for example on a floor area close to door where forexample carbon may be included in the surface for gradually lowering theelectrical potential in a person walking on it. This will reduce therisk for the unpleasant sudden discharge when touching the door handle.Since all panels within the system have the same edge joining system theinstallation will be easy to achieve.

The flooring system may also incorporate panels with a decorativesurface comprising a thermoplastic foil which is selected from the groupconsisting of; polyvinyl chloride, ionomeric ethylene methacrylic acidcopolymer, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene and polycarbonate.

The flooring system may also incorporate panels with a decorativesurface comprising a metal sheet which is selected from the groupconsisting of; aluminium foil, steel foil, copper foil, zinc foil,titanium foil and alloys therefrom.

All of the different decorative surfaces made of thermosetting,thermoplastic, elastomeric and metal surfaces with their respectivedifferences in physical properties may all be provided with a surfacestructure. They may further be provided with decor achieved throughcoloration either in a uniform coloration or a patterned design. Somematerials have properties that makes them natural for simulating certainmaterials. For example thermosetting laminate, most commonly beingconstituted by a printed paper and possibly one or more overlay papersfor wear resistance where the papers are impregnated with amino resin,is very suited for simulating materials like wood, polished and planedstone and ceramic materials. The metal surface can be provided with asurface structure and be used as it is. The same goes for the rubbermaterial which also can be provided with a surface structure. The fabriccan be exemplified by needle loom carpets. The materials may be selectedby mere design expression or for their unique physical properties.

It will through the present invention be very easy to create veryinteresting interior designs as easy as installing a common laminatefloor. The different materials may be selected by mere design expressionor for their unique physical properties.

1. A flooring system comprising a plurality of panels, each panelcomprising edges, tongue and groove joints, an upper side and a lowerside, wherein the upper side comprises a decorative surface, wherein atleast one panel comprises a decorative surface that differs from thedecorative surface of the other panels in the system, wherein thedifference in the decorative surface of the at least one panel isaesthetic or a mechanical property.
 2. A flooring system comprising: aplurality of panels, each panel comprising edges, tongue and groovejoints, an upper side and a lower side, wherein the plurality of panelscan be joined to form a floor; a first decorative layer, wherein thefirst decorative layer is on the upper side of one or more of theplurality of panels; and a second decorative layer, wherein the seconddecorative layer is different from the first decorative layer, whereinthe second decorative layer is on the upper side of one or more of theplurality of panels, wherein the difference in the decorative surface ofthe at least one panel is aesthetic or a mechanical property; wherein atleast one of the plurality of panels comprises a first decorativesurface and at least another of the plurality of panels comprises afirst decorative surface; wherein the first and second decorativesurfaces comprise a decorative material selected from the groupconsisting of a thermoplastic composite, a thermosetting laminate, anelastomeric foil, a thermoplastic foil, a fabric, a metal sheet, amineral and a mineral composite.